Hello and Roll Tide!

On Saturday, Alabama takes on the South Carolina Gamecocks in their second conference game of the year. Alabama enters 1-0 in conference play while South Carolina dropped their first SEC game to Mississippi State last week. Shane Beamer will have his Gamecocks playing with a chip on their shoulders to avoid an 0-2 start. Bama played South Carolina each of the last two seasons, both games being one-score wins for the Tide. If the trend continues, this could be another thrilling chapter between these squads who have only played each other 18 times. Below are injury updates, a South Carolina preview, and Week 4 storylines. Let’s go!

Injury Updates:

  • AK Dear and Noah Rogers are available to make their first appearances of the season
  • Justin Hill and Desmond Umeozulu will be OUT against South Carolina. Dez Zulu started at BANDIT against FSU and Hill has been a significant depth piece at the WOLF. We should expect to see more of Jah-Marien Latham and potentially freshman Xavier Griffin

Week 4 Preview: South Carolina

Alabama and South Carolina have played 18 times, Bama leading the series 15-3. Alabama won their first 10 meetings before SC won 3 of the next 5. Alabama is currently on a 3-game winning streak against the Gamecocks, two coming in the last two seasons. In 2024, South Carolina came to Tuscaloosa following Alabama’s heartbreaking loss to Vanderbilt. Fans expected an inspired Alabama team to dominate the Gamecocks, but instead Alabama nearly delivered another heart attack. The Tide won 27-25, allowing a touchdown and onside kick with 1-minute remaining in the contest. It wasn’t until Domani Jackson intercepted a Hail Mary attempt, that the Tuscaloosa crowd could finally rest. Last season when Alabama travelled to Columbia, the Tide scored twice with under 3-minutes remaining to win 29-22. Since the turn of the Millennium, this series has been very exciting. The 2026 Gamecocks are led by 6th year head coach Shane Beamer. Beamer is a South Carolina native, born in Charleston, and played college football for Virginia Tech. He is the son of legendary Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer, the winningest head coach in Hokie history. Shane Beamer is 35-31 as the head coach at SC with a conference record of 16-25. Beamer has called South Carolina his “dream job” but unless he turns things around, Gamecock nation may make his dream a distant memory. SC’s offense is led by senior LaNorris Sellers. Sellers started for the Gamecocks each of the last two seasons boasting career numbers of 5,705 passing yards, 38 passing touchdowns, 1,167 rushing yards, and 14 rushing touchdowns. Sellers is an excellent athlete who is difficult to tackle in the open field. His struggles come in the passing game where he has only completed 63.3% of passes during his career. Alongside Sellers are two highly talented receivers in Nyck Harbour and Donovan Murph. Nyck Harbour stands at 6’5 239lbs and runs an unofficial 4.24 40-yard dash. This size and speed are a matchup nightmare. Just last week, we saw Duce Robinson put up big stats against Alabama, as a 6’6 230 lbs guy. There’s no doubt Beamer will try to replicate that success with Harbour. Donovan Murph is a hometown kid who attended Irmo High school in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s been productive at his dream school this season, catching 5 passes for 136 yards with 2 touchdowns. Alabama’s secondary struggled last week and SC has the talent at receiver to give them problems. The Gamecock’s leading rusher is sophomore Matt Fuller. Fuller is averaging 7.2 yards per carry with 3 touchdowns. He is a great compliment to LaNorris Seller, making read-options difficult to defend. Alabama’s linebackers struggled with FSU’s option game, something to monitor again this week. South Carolina’s defense is sturdy, allowing only 16.7 points per game (36th nationally). They are led by future NFL 1st round pick Dylan Stewart. Stewart missed SC’s first two games this season and had a snap limit on Saturday. He is not listed on the SEC availability report so may be back to 100%. Stewart is an EDGE rusher who can disrupt the quarterback on every play. South Carolina’s defense also has some familiar faces. Justin Okoronkwo was part of Alabama’s 2024 recruiting class and recorded 77 tackles with the Tide. Through 3 games he is SC’s leading tackler with 19. Alongside him is Shawn Murphy who was a part of Alabama’s 2022 class. Then from a season ago, Kelby Collins starts on the defensive line for the Gamecocks. South Carolina has plenty of talent on defense, but often finds themselves with disadvantages due to the offense. If their offense can play well, this defense can be a great compliment.

Week 4 Storylines:

Be ready from the jump – Alabama’s offense has been slow to start against Power-4 opponents this season. As well, the defense started off shaky against FSU. Kalen needs to figure out how to get this team ready to go at the kickoff. Last week, South Carolina jumped to a 16-0 lead against Mississippi State before blowing it in the second half. They have the ability to start quickly so Alabama needs to make sure that they do not once again fall into a hole. SC has the talent on both sides of the ball to make this a contest.

Set the EDGE – Alabama struggled at times on Saturday containing mobile quarterback Ashton Daniels. LaNorris Sellers has the same traits as Daniels and is even more physical. Depth pieces at the EDGE position are OUT, leaving questions for Kane Wommack’s defense. SC has the ability to run a heavy option-based offense and setting the edge will be very important. FSU made big plays when Alabama had to play man-coverage. If Alabama is confident that their front-4 can contain the edge, they will be able to drop more players back into zone coverage, forcing LaNorris Sellers to beat them with his arm.

Run Forest, Run! – Alabama’s run game is finally coming to life. Through 3 games, Alabama is averaging 209.7 rushing yards per game. Last season, they averaged only 104.1 yards per game which was ranked 125th nationally. The additions of freshmen EJ Crowell and Trae’shawn Brown have really improved the running back room. Sophomore AK Dear returns to action on Saturday, but it is unclear if he will have a role. Alabama should continue to feed the young running backs who have been productive this year. The running game opens up play action and creates coverage advantages as the defense has to put more players into the box.

As always, reach out with any questions or comments that you have. What is your score prediction? If you know of anyone interested in joining the newsletter, send me their info.

Roll Tide! -Jake